Tears to a Stranger
by LittleEllehammer
Summary: Who knows what Victoria and Charlie will find when they go through the Doctor's belongings?


Victoria poured the steaming coffee into a blue mug. She lifted it carefully and walked past the open door into her study where she had been painting for most of the day. The door into the bedroom was only a few inches open, and Victoria looked inside to see her three months old daughter sleeping in the crib. She blew a kiss, and tip toed off.

It didn't surprise her to see that the door to the garden was open. Her boyfriend, Charlie, had been spending quite a lot time outside during the last couple of days. The grass tickled her bare feet as she walked towards the centre of their little garden, towards the TARDIS.

Charlie didn't look up as she entered, but kept his focus on the many boxes in front of him. It was first when Victoria held the mug under his nose, when he looked up at her.

"Thank you," he said with the hint of a smile as he took a sip. She sat down next to him and ran a hand through his soft blonde hair.

"You shouldn't keep coming back out here," she whispered, though she wouldn't be able to stay away herself. Charlie just shrugged, and took another sip.

"Guess not. I just came back to look through this stuff..." he gestured to the nearest boxes. Victoria took a look around. The TARDIS was filled with boxes here and there, all with things picked up by the Doctor at some point. She flinched and looked into the nearest box. It was filled with black squares, or maybe just some small boxes. It was hard to tell weather it was made of plastic, metal or wood.

"What is this?" she asked as she picked one randomly. It was definitely wooden, a slightly dusty black one. She would have guessed it to be heavier, but it was very light in her hand.

"I believe it's holograms," he mumbled, frowning at the things. "I just found them behind his stuff from the 17th century. Blimey, would you believe how much he's been storing in here?" Charlie laughed sadly. Then his eyes fell on the boxes again.

"Holograms?" Victoria said, also frowning. "Holograms of what?"

"We could find out," Charlie answered as he took the thing and flipped it open.

It was like looking into a little TARDIS. The inside was bigger than the outside, though that wasn't new to the pair of them. Charlie emptied it and they looked at it all on the floor. Victoria reached for a bundle of old photographs, held together by a worn out rubber band. Charlie leaned in so he could get a better view.

All pictures showed a young woman, black hair and dark skin. In one of them she stood in front of the statue of liberty laughing with a man with messy brown hair. He wore a blue suit with a long brown coat to finish the unique look. Victoria's eyes darted up and she saw the very same suit with the brown coat on a hanger a few metres away. The next picture showed her proudly standing with a piece of important looking paper, in front of a hospital. The next one again showed her with a girl, likewise with dark skin and black hair. They could only be sisters. The last picture in the bundle shower her smiling more than on the other pictures, a man hugging her from behind. She guessed that the pair was just married.

"This must be the Doctor," Charlie said holding up the one with the statue of liberty. He then carefully picked up all the pictures and secured them with the rubber band.

"But who's she?" Victoria whispered. She looked through the rest of the stuff from the box, hoping for something that could answer her question. After a moment or two, Charlie spoke quietly.

"Martha Jones."

Victoria looked up at him.

"What did you say?"

"Martha Jones, Smith-Jones after marrying Mickey Smith. Look, it says so right here." Charlie gestured to the lid of the box where, how could she not have seen it, a few sentences were written in fading letters. It listed her date of birth, nationality, and then a single line that said _Family needed her._

Next to the bundle of pictures they found a cell phone, long lost the power, looking unharmed though there was the usual scratch here and there. There was also a very curled piece of paper, or was it parchment, where the only thing they could read was **Love's Labour's Won**. They gathered the stuff and put it down into the box, finding a new one to look through. Victoria opened the lid and read out loud:

"Rose Marion Tyler, born 1987, London. _Trapped in parallel world_. A parallel world?" she said looking questioning at Charlie. His face mirrored her expression.

"He did mention at some point that he had seen the world from quite a different angle." Victoria nodded to herself, remembering the conversation. She emptied the box to look at it's contains. There was only two pictures in this, one where a young blonde girl stood next to an alien creature that was in the middle of a handshake with a older man who smiled wide to the camera. The other other one showed the girl, her blonde hair shorter and more curly, wearing the brown coat that belonged to the Doctor. Her eyes showed happiness that made even Victoria's mouth move upwards.

They found a piece of paper that said **Bad Wolf **and a single red rose. Strangely, the rose was still fresh, though it had been lying for who knows how long in a wooden box.

The belongings come back in the box, and Victoria set it carefully with the others. She noticed that Charlie's eyes had gone blank, as if he was another place.

"What is it?"

Charlie kept looking on something beyond as he shook his head. Victoria reached out and took his hand in both of hers.

"Who was she?" Victoria tried again. Charlie finally looked into her eyes with a serious look.

"He told me about her once. Rose Tyler, defender of the Earth. He lost her through a portal to the parallel world, no way back because it could shred the world apart. She found a crack though, came back to him for a short time. He sealed the world off again, leaving her with a kind of clone of himself that was made by mistake. Hardest thing he had ever done, he told me. After that he told me to bugger off, and never mention it again." He snorted and placed his other hand on top of hers.

"He loved her." Said, more a statement than a question. They sat silent for a while. Then Charlie dug his hand down the between the boxes, and pulled one out. It was no different to the rest, only this one was a very dark red.

Both very curious they opened the lid.

"Maria Westergaard, also known as Marian or Mary-Ann West. Born 2078, London. Nationality: Dane. " Victoria was about to ask when Charlie continued.

"Denmark sweetheart. But what was he doing with a Danish girl?" Victoria had no answer, not knowing the slightest bit about Danes herself.

Inside the box was no pictures, no slips or paper, not even a single flower. They only found a small diary, blank despite the first twenty pages or so. They also found a very small disc with no information on the side. They looked at each other.

"We shouldn't..." Victoria started, knowing that a diary, not to mention a girls diary, was something very private. But Charlie was already on his feet holding the small disc carefully between his thumb and forefinger.

"What's the harm Vicky?" He knew the use of his personal nickname would remove any doubt she had. She stood up herself and moved over to a minor couch by a screen. She had been surprised by seeing this the first time she entered the TARDIS. But then again, you could find just about anything in this home of a Time Lord.

Charlie pressed a button and a part of the TARDIS roared to life. It had been still for quite a long time, and they both knew that the power would fully disappear one day. He sat down next to her as the screen flickered to life. Victoria leaned in to see the dark screen better.

At first there was nothing at all, then she watched a girl, a very young girl, fiddle with a camera. She was holding it herself, so it was easy to see her close-up. Her green blue eyes shone with delight as she tucked some blonde hair with purple tips behind her ear. She cleared her throat and then looked directly into the lens, directly out on Victoria and Charlie.

"Today is Thursday the 18th July, year 2097. My name is Marian and I -" she said with a light energetic voice, when a manly voice cut through.

"I really think Maria sounds better!" The voice sounded oddly familiar and Charlie felt a twist inside. The girl just rolled her eyes, and started again.

"Okay, so I'm Maria. Anyway, I'm 18 years old, and in only a week I'll turn 19. I'm standing in Denmark with this man," Maria turned the camera to a man that looked like he was in the start of his thirties, who waved awkwardly. Victoria let out a pained gasp and Charlie felt the twists grow wider.

"Doctor," Victoria whispered, barely audible. A single tear formed in her eye, waiting glistening for a second before it painted a wet streak down her face. Maria turned the camera back to herself.

"... he calls himself the Doctor so that's what I'll be calling him as well. So, Doc and I are about to take off, and even though I've known him for like an hour or so, I'm SO excited." She lifted her hand up to her mouth as if she was telling a secret.

"The Doctor is actually a Time Lord, a human looking alien who owns a time-machine." The Doctor came over and took the camera from her.

"You got it all wrong!" He mimicked her by lifting his own hand. "It's not really me who looks like a human, it's just you who looks like a Time Lord." Maria's laughter was louder as she took the camera from him again. She stuck her tongue out at him and then looked back into the camera.

"I'm not even kidding. You should see the thing. He travels in an old blue police box called the TARDIS, and it's bigger on the inside! Just wait and see." The surroundings changed and Maria was now sitting in a room, alone.

"So I better start with how it all began. Just been writing it all in my diary, so I won't come with a detailed version here, but it all started with the Doctor." She moved around and left the camera filming towards a bed where Maria found a nice place to sit.

"Long story short, I was just taking a walk in the park when these strange creatures appeared. They looking walking rhinos, only these could talk and they carried weapons. For some reason the went for me and was about to take with with them when the Doctor came running along. He saved me, though those rhino dudes seemed pretty bugged about it. That was my first encounter with aliens, and they wanted to kill me even though I'm completely innocent."

"You're human. They take that as a crime." Maria's head turned as she saw the Doctor walk into focus. He sat down next to her and rubbed his temples with his fingers.

"I honestly have no idea why, but something have happened somewhere at sometime and now they've targeted you because you were the nearest. It's nothing personal at all."

"Oh yeah? Well, why should I be blamed for something someone did at... sometime." The Doctor shook his head, and then looked into the camera, through the lens, and out of the screen.

"You could say that I've adopted Maria for the next week to make sure that the Judoon, the walking and talking rhinos, don't follow her."

Maria frowned.

"Wait, why again? Why ME? I'm a British girl, living in Denmark. There's NOTHING special about me."

The Doctor turned to her with a very serious expression. He seemed way older than his looks showed, which of course he was.

"I've said this to many people before, so trust me when I say that I have NEVER in my entire life met someone who wasn't special." He smiled at her, though it didn't quite reach his eyes. Maria just looked at him.

"Well if you say so. By the way, what is the deal with me talking to a video camera whilst I'm 'travelling'?" she asked. The Doctor shrugged.

"You'll be watching this in a couple of years thinking that you were mad enough to travel with a man and his blue box."

The camera went black after Maria had reached for the power button. When it turned on again she was walking towards the centre of the TARDIS. She was holding the camera, filming the Doctor run around the controls that looked like a giant mushroom. The very same mushroom that was now dusty and dying in front of Victoria and Charlie.

"Morning Doctor!" Maria said happily, following him around, filming here and there. He mumbled something as he continued his dance around the mushroom, pulling a handle now and then. Maria settled herself in the sofa by the screen, where there now sat a couple looking at the confusing thing playing in front of them.

"Today's Friday the 19th July. Well, at last for now. I don't know though, where and when are we headed Doctor?" The Doctor stopped for a moment his finger inches from a green switch.

"That depends on where you want to go. Forwards, backwards. Here, now, than, later." He chuckled waiting for a reply.

"Fine, _spaceman_. Show me Saturn." She said jokingly. The Doctor sent her a big smile before mouthing "Hold on". His finger pressed down on the switch and the TARDIS gave a massive jerk. The camera slipped and flew through the air. It sounded like Maria was running after it whilst trying to hold herself steady, and she caught it mid air. When the TARDIS steadied itself, the Doctor pulled Maria to the door. He opened it in in front of them was... well, nothing. Maria zoomed into the distance with the camera, but all she could see was small blue sand corns. The Doctor gestured for her that she should take a step outside, whilst explaining that the TARDIS had a breathing area in two metres from the door.

"My name is Maria, and I'm the first human to ever walk on Saturn." She turned back. "Right?" The Doctor shrugged.

"In reality, yes. But officially no human will walk on Saturn for at least a couple of thousands years. Now, come back inside, we have a LOT to see!"

The video continues with the Doctor taking Maria anywhere. At least as many places a Time Lord can managed with a time machine at hand. They gambled in Las Vegas, enjoyed dinner at Hawaii, went back in life to see the very first Olympic games, and continued like that until they reached the 25th of July, the end of the week showed in just a single hour, and the Doctor brought Maria back to a place in England saying she wanted to stop by her parents just as she had planned to all along. She filmed her goodbye with the Doctor, a handshake quickly being replaced by a hug, and then she was gone. Over her shoulder the Doctor was staring at her, with a sad look on his face as though he knew what was about to come.

Maria walked down a street.

"Can't believe it. If it wasn't for this tape I wouldn't have believed any of it possible. I'm going to miss the Doctor so much..." she fell silent looking a little sad herself. Her feet halted and she stopped right there on the pavement.

"He can't leave without me. I have to go back!" She turned and the picture got blurry as she ran swinging it by her side. She must have forgotten that she was still filming.

Maria turned the corner from where she had left the Doctor, hoping to still see him stand there in the door, inviting her inside so they could visit another place filled with adventures. But what she got to see got the "Doctor" she wanted to yell stuck in he throat. Before her stood a small army of the talking rhinos, the Judoon as the Doctor had called them. The one in the centre, the leader, lifted his gun.

"Human, you have been sentenced for your peoples crimes. Prepare yourself for execution."

Maria must have tried to say something but her yell was still stuck in her throat. She didn't even try to move, her body too rigid to do anything.

Still hearing the blast of the gun, she fell to the ground. The camera was secured in her hand, but it filmed into an awkward position of the asphalt beneath her. Soon it was covered with red liquid, and Maria's body was emptied for life. The camera kept going until a shadow appeared and gently removed it from her fingers. There was a hoarse "I'm sorry" before it went black.

Victoria hadn't noticed that Charlie had grasped her hand tightly, as well as Charlie hadn't noticed the silent tears flowing from his eyes. Within seconds he had pulled her into an embrace, as they silently cried for the young girl who would die one day.

Inside the house the little baby girl moved around in her bright blue crib opening her shining green blue eyes before drifting off to sleep again. She dreamt a colourful dream, not knowing that her parents had been watching her destiny on a screen that belonged to a man who himself had left the world. And Mary-Ann Westergaard smiled in her sleep, not worrying the slightest about talking rhinos or the blue box that waited in the garden, her future coming closer.


End file.
